Filter Heading to the Studio in April

Richard Patrick of Filter has confirmed that the band is heading back into the studio in April to start recording their new record, a follow up to 2010’s ‘The Trouble with Angels.’ They’ll be working with producer Bob Marlette whose impressive track record includes work with Black Sabbath, Saliva and Atreyu. The tentative title of the new disc is ‘Gurney and the Burning Books.’

In a recent interview with All Knowing Force Patrick said that they were already about seven songs into the writing process and plan to “tear your face off with music.” He explained their thinking going into it, saying, “One of the main things we set out to do, we said let’s make a song with all the elements of ‘Hey Man Nice Shot,’ and we sat there and it wrote itself. “He continued to describe the new song, “We didn’t want to write the same bass line or guitar progression but it had to be an amazing riff, let’s start with that. The riff was so good, it’s a two-bar pattern, and we throw guitar over it with drums and I scream and the bass line never changes, it’s a nonstop bass line that never ever changes.”

Regarding inspiration for the new material, Patrick explained, “We were talking about some of the things that are going on in my life, there’s been a lot of betrayal from people surrounding me. So we were thinking ‘Hey Man Nice Shot,’ that’s something that describes a desperate man’s actions and trying to make sense of it, almost like a joke. So we started talking about betrayal and we played around with the words ‘Take That Knife Out of My Back’ and all of a sudden this song just wrote itself." Patrick talked about what they wanted to accomplish, saying, "We wanted to come out with something that was exactly like ‘Short Bus’ (Filter’s 1995 release) but done in today’s world with today’s technology. The first thing we did was say this is the song that has the same energy and power as ‘Hey Man Nice Shot.’"

Of the overall results thus far, Patrick seems pleased, saying, "We have this beautiful record that starts off heavy and mean and then it goes back to the more moody, almost joyful parts of life. For me, the record that we always try to model is the ‘Title of Record’ era, that sets the standard in how heavy and how light we can go." He continued, saying, "We just aspire to make the songs as good and I think the songwriting is superior, we just have to make sure the performances are as desperate and powerful as those crazy takes I did when I was kid."

Patrick also confirmed that drummer Mika Fineo and bassist Phil Buckman wouldn’t be returning to the mix this time around, explaining, "It was time for a change for us. Filter is not a band, it’s a project." As of right now, the project includes Patrick joined by Jonny Radke.

Filter recently wrapped a short run of East Coast tour dates, check out our review of their recent New York City stop here.